


It's the Thought that Counts

by AlycatIsAlive



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Basically, But they're still super cute, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, I love this pairing, It doesn't go the way he plans, M/M, One Shot, Tadashi likes Tsukki, Tadashi tries to do something romantic, They're hopelessly in love with each other, Tsukishima Kei is Actually a Softie, Tsukki likes animal facts, Yamaguchi Tadashi is a Good Boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24766213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlycatIsAlive/pseuds/AlycatIsAlive
Summary: Tadashi loves everything about his boyfriend. He especially loves being close enough to see when Tsukki lets his guard down. He loves getting to see the dinosaur-loving, animal fact-knowing, affection-showing side of his boyfriend. He tries to do something romantic to show Tsukki how much he loves that side of him, but it doesn't go quite as planned.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 87





	It's the Thought that Counts

**Author's Note:**

> So this ended up being 3x longer than I meant for it to be, so I hope it's not too rambly. Enjoy!

Tadashi smiled proudly at the stone he was holding. It was a dark blueish-grey with white speckles that reminded him of snowflakes. It wasn’t any bigger than the palm of his hand, and when he ran his fingers over it, the surface was smooth. He closed his hand around the flat egg-shaped rock, sticking it into his pocket. If he was here with his teammates, one of them would’ve snatched it from him, skipping it over the lake until it sunk deep into the water.

But he wasn’t with his them. He was on a week-long family vacation, away from his classmates, his team, and his friends. Away from Tsukki. He had tried to convince his family to let Tsukki come along, but they insisted that the vacation was for family only. He was disappointed, but the trip was only for a week. He could handle it.

He was heading back tonight. He was glad for the break, he really was. He felt refreshed. But he was ready to go back. He was ready to see his friends again. With the stone heavy in his pocket, Tadashi walked back to finish packing his bag.

“Tsukki!” Tadashi shouted, pounding on his boyfriend’s bedroom door. Normally he wouldn’t be so loud in someone else’s house at 6 AM on a Sunday, but he just couldn’t wait to see him again. Tsukki’s mom was already at work for the day, and Akiteru wasn’t visiting right now, so it wasn’t like he was waking anyone up.

Well, anyone besides Tsukki. Tadashi heard a groan from inside the room, taking that as his cue to enter.

Tsukishima was still in his bed, reaching over to his nightstand to grab his glasses. Tadashi blushed at his boyfriend’s disheveled appearance. His hair was a mess, sticking up in every direction. His light grey shirt hung off of one of his shoulders, clearly too big for him. Even Tsukki’s sweatpants were askew, one leg had gotten pushed up all the way to his knee, the other still down to his ankle.

Tadashi’s heart fluttered. He couldn’t believe that he got to see his boyfriend like this. The rest of the world only got to see Tsukishima, a sarcastic and well put-together teenager who got good grades and doesn’t care much about those around him. Tsukki’s family got to see a bit more; they knew Kei, the genuine (but still sarcastic) son who loves dinosaurs and enjoys sharing random facts about animals. Tadashi is lucky enough that he gets to see both of these sides. He gets to see Tsukki in every way. Disheveled from just waking up, put together at school, relaxed and casual at home.

He got to be with Tsukki when he was excited to watch a new animal documentary that just came out in theaters. He got to be with Tsukki when he was stressed about an upcoming test. He got to be with Tsukki when he celebrated acing that test. He got to be with Tsukki when he grumbled about how annoying their teammates are. _He got to be with Tsukki._

Tsukki got out of bed, wrapping his arms around Tadashi’s waist. Tadashi hugged him back, laying his head against his boyfriend’s chest. They stood that way for a few minutes, just basking in each other’s presence. Tsukki tilted Tadashi’s chin up to look in his eyes. They stared at each other, gaze full of love and trust.

“Your breath smells,” Tadashi laughed, stepping away.

“You’re the one who woke me up. You have to deal with my morning breath.” Tsukki leaned down, pecking Tadashi on the cheek. “I’ll freshen up. Be right back.”

Tadashi sat on his boyfriend’s bed, looking around the neat room. His desk had a small stack of textbooks and some homework that Tsukki must’ve been working on last night. The shelf above the desk was filled with non-fiction books and dinosaur figures, plus a few plushes that Tadashi had given him. Tsukki’s volleyball jersey was hung on the wall as always, ironed and ready for their next game. There were several photos displayed around the room. Most of them were pictures of Tsukki with his family. Surprisingly, there were a few pictures with people from volleyball. Tadashi chuckled at the picture of Bokuto, Kuro, and Akaashi, with a very annoyed-looking Tsukki in the background.

Tadashi’s favorite photo was the one on Tsukki’s nightstand. It showed the two of them laying in the grass late at night, Tadashi’s head on Tsukki’s stomach. The picture was dimly lit and slightly blurry (Tadashi wasn’t very good at taking selfies), but every time he saw it, his heart soared.

“You’re smiling,” Tsukki commented, walking back into the room. He was still wearing his pajamas, but they had been straightened out. Tsukki’s hair was combed now, but it was still sticking out in weird directions. It would only really stay in place once he took a shower.

“I heard a fun fact about penguins the other day,” Tadashi looked up at his boyfriend, a huge grin on his face. His heart was beating rapidly as he finally brought up why he had been so excited to come over (besides getting to see his boyfriend, of course).

“Oh?” Tsukki encouraged, sitting down on the bed next to him.

“I heard that penguins mate for life… and that one penguin will give another the perfect stone when they choose their mate. As a sort of proposal.” Tadashi’s cheeks turned pink as he spoke, looking down at his hands.

“Oh, that’s a myth.” Tsukki hummed, putting his hands behind his head as he leaned back to lay on his bed.

“W-what?” Tadashi stumbled over his words, flustered.

“Yeah, a lot of people say that on the internet, but it’s not accurate. Male Adélie penguins do give a female a stone when around the same time when they’re trying to court a mate, but it’s nothing perfect or precise. The female will use the pebble to help build her nest. It’s not really a proposal, more of a team construction project.” Tsukki chuckles, “It’s really interesting that so many people love the idea of a penguin proposal though.”

“Oh,” Tadashi mumbled. His face had fallen as he nervously fumbled with something in his pocket.

“Why’d you bring it up?” Tsukki asked, sitting back up. When he saw his boyfriend’s face, his eyes softened, “Is everything okay?”

Tadashi sighed, pulling the stone from his pocket. On one side was a small silhouette of a dinosaur inside a heart. On the other side, Tadashi had written the date they had started dating. He ran his fingers over the rock, tracing the art he had stayed up late drawing last night.

Tsukki gently took the stone from his boyfriend’s hand, looking it over in adoration. He smiled, squeezing it tightly. Tadashi hadn’t been able to wrap his hand all the way around the rock, but it fit perfectly in Tsukki’s, as if it was a part of him.

“I love it,” Tsukki whispered, pressing the stone to his heart. Tadashi looked up at him, beaming. “It’s perfect.” Tsukki placed the stone on his nightstand, right next to the picture of the two of them. He moved closer to Tadashi, gently wrapping a hand around the back of his boyfriend’s neck and leaning in for a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh I hope you liked the story!! When I first started writing it, I thought it was going to be like 400 words, but then I got super gushy about them and went off on so many tangents. Sorry if this was messy or hard to follow, I just sat down and wrote it in like an hour.
> 
> I was actually not aware that the penguin thing was a myth until I looked it up when I got the idea for this fic. I was planning on it just being super cute and nauseatingly sweet, but then I realized my whole life was a lie. So I adapted, cause I still really liked the idea of Tadashi trying to appeal to Tsukki's knowledge of animal facts.
> 
> Anyway, I hope it was enjoyable to read. Comments, kudos, and constructive criticism are heavily appreciated! I don't have much experience writing fanfiction (this is literally my second one) so I'm looking for ways to improve. Thank you all so much for reading!! <3


End file.
